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Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Muffinpalooza...

After getting poked way too many times while seeing an allergist this morning (no reactions at all though!), I was more than ready to get some baking done for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day!

Jeff wanted to bring in muffins this round, so in the interest of variety, I made two different kinds - up first are these Crumb-Topped Thin Mint Muffins.

Yes, I didn't mistype, we made muffins using those classic Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies! The recipe I worked from actually called for using Oreo's, but I had stashed a box of Thin Mints into the freezer (oh come on, I can't be the only one who does that!) that we had not busted into yet and it sounded like a good experiment.

Besides using those cookies, the preparation of these muffins is a little different as you cut cold butter into the dry ingredients, rather than creaming the butter and sugar or simply using melted butter or oil. We thought this gave the muffins a slightly more cake-y texture with a more tender crumb. After I tossed in about a stack of coarsely chopped Thin Mints and a small handful of miniature chocolate chips (I couldn't help myself!) to the thick, puffy batter, I caught myself gazing at the bowl, with a finger poised to take a taste, as it looked very much like soft cookies-n-cream ice cream! Then I reminded myself it was muffin batter and I'd rather eat a finished muffin.

To give the tops a tantalizing finish, we finely chopped a few more Thin Mints and mixed them with flour, sugar and a couple tablespoons of softened butter to form a crumbly topping. When they test done, be sure to let them sit in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes before turning them out - this cools them down slightly and I find they release easier. However, don't leave them longer than that or the bottoms will begin to steam and toughen.

As soon as I sunk my teeth through those minty nuggets on top, I think it only took a few seconds for me to polish off my muffin! Using all those cookies, I thought the muffins might end up being a bit too sweet... but only using enough sugar in the batter to give them structure, it actually wasn't too much! Sweet, yes, but not tooth-achingly so and you'll have the benefit of fresh minty breath!

The next recipe on tap, Banana-Macadamia Nut Muffins, used a more traditional and speedy version of preparation as the fat needed is simply melted when added.

This time I used the ripe bananas I had leftover and froze from making those cupcakes last Saturday - I set them in the fridge last night and mixed the meat of the banana with the juices that released as they thawed. To give this batter a little more depth, a combination of granulated sugar and dark brown sugar is used to sweeten the muffins.

What makes these muffins special are the rich and buttery chunks of toasted macadamia nuts studded in the muffin and as a sprinkling on top. A little fresh grated nutmeg adds some spice, but don't be tempted to add much more than we listed as it is a pretty powerful flavor. When testing for doneness of the muffins, you can use two methods - you can touch the tops of the muffins and they should spring back when lightly pressed in the center. If you don't want to do that, you could also pierce the center of the muffins with a toothpick and it should come out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached.

The texture of these was slightly more dense than the above, but they weren't heavy by any means. These dark honey-colored muffins are also quite moist, thanks to the generous cup of mashed banana. It does call for a bit of melted butter, but if you wanted to lighten them up, I think you could get away with using drained applesauce for half of the butter. I wouldn't mess with the nuts much as they add such an interesting and tropical flavor and if I would have thought about it, I think toasted shreds of coconut or a few pieces of diced dried pineapple would have complimented the muffins well! Having said that, I know that these nuts are fairly expensive, so if you really don't want to use them, I would love to try these again with dark chocolate chunks to play off the banana flavor! Don't feel like muffins? This would also make a delicious banana bread if baked in a loaf pan.

Not fair! At all. There is no way on earth that I could have thin mints in the freezer at this time of year! (Do you have any more? I'm begging) And heck no, you're not the only one who freezes them. I actually love to eat them frozen, probably evolved from stashing them in the freezer in hopes that they would last more than a week. Which they don't. (Elly, Edy's makes thin mint ice cream, I swear I could just take a spoon to the entire container)Joe, have you ever considered being a food stylist? The picture of the muffin on top of the thin mints is one of my all time favorites, right up there with that bowl of mashed potatoes you did a while back....

I made these today and LOVED them. I didn't realize the recipe had originally called for Oreos, but I love the Thin Mint variation (we are Girl Scout cookie hoarders too, and STILL have Thin Mints in the freezer!). I absolutely love these muffins. Thank you for posting the recipe!